American Hardwood Supplement 2018

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AMERICAN HARDWOOD Southeast Asia Supplement 2018 The world’s forests offer hardwoods of every description and increasingly more and more hardwoods are being planted, especially in Asia. Why therefore is the North American natural hardwood forest resource so important to Asian manufacturers? Michael Buckley FIWSc MPhil, explains. North American hardwood forests offer diversity of species The hardwood forests of the USA and Canada hold the most diverse array of hardwood species anywhere in the temperate regions of the world – and they are under-utilised. Whereas the hardwood diversity of Europe was largely eliminated in the last ice-age by the east-west Alps, the same did not happen in North America where the Appalachian Mountains run north-south allowing the trees to come back as the ice melted. In consequence, for example, there are very many oaks in the USA, of which 16 are commercially available, compared with two oaks in Europe. Other native species, such as tulipwood, black cherry, black walnut and hard maple are now unique to the North American continent. Many of these American hardwood species, from alder to walnut, are preferred by designers for the choices of colours and grains they exhibit for furniture, flooring and high-end joinery. Equally important is the fact that they perform well, depending whether the priority is strength, hardness, machinability or the need for a first class finish. Many of them stain easily and well, providing further choices for designers of interior products and are available sawn in long lengths and wide boards. Another issue is the composition of the forests. While species diversity is important, so is the fact that oak is dominant, representing nearly 40% of the standing timber, at a time when oak is the most popular temperate hardwood in world markets for hardwood flooring and furniture. More recently research projects by AHEC have produced new opportunities for exterior applications. Thermally Modified Timber (TMT) in ash, oak and tulipwood and Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) in tulipwood offer new opportunities for American hardwoods in Asia. For many product applications (and for paper) Asia’s increasing plantations of fast-growing species (rubber, acacia, eucalyptus) do provide some vital material, but their small diameter logs require more processing of laminating, finger-jointing and gluing. They cannot match the larger diameter American species for yield in solid wood. However there is room for both in Asia’s burgeoning production and consumption. For decorative veneer the USA is also an essential provider of raw material, often to cover Asia’s plantation species. But to come back to the point about harvesting, all 20 main commercial American hardwoods are readily available in volume on a consistent basis. When consistency is vital to large scale manufacturers in Asia, there is another unique benefit which is High quality sawn lumber from USA 14
Southeast Asia Supplement 2018 AMERICAN HARDWOOD the widely accepted NHLA Grading system offered by American exporters that is capable of providing container after container of material produced to the same standard. This is not the case for most other major hardwood producers around the world. Key to NHLA grading is the ability to predict useable yield with the accuracy not matched by other grading systems. In the end it is the environmental credentials of this resource that are second to none which influence buyers from governments and retailers to individual consumers. All the scientific evidence shows that they are growing – by natural regeneration - faster than they are being harvested; a true measure of sustainability. The national hardwood forest inventory of standing timber in the USA is estimated at 13.9 billion cubic metres. Recent work with interactive maps has revealed that in every hardwood-growing U.S. State the annual growth exceeds annual harvest and mortality. Some time ago the UN expressed concern that the American hardwood forests are not sufficiently harvested and utilised. Reduction in harvesting, during the economic downturn of 2008/9, can lead to greater tree mortality returning CO2 to the atmosphere as well as a build-up of dead fibre presenting forest fire risk. Why therefore is the North American hardwood resource so important to Asian manufacturers? By using American hardwoods, no forests are threatened, which is one way to take the pressure off Asia’s natural forest resources. In any case many of the unique American species offered are highly acceptable in world markets ensuring market access for wood product manufacturing exporters in Asia. While the USA contains only 8% of the world’s hardwood forests, it is by far the largest exporter of sawn hardwood, the majority of which is shipped to Asia, surely a demonstration of its availability and competitive pricing. Finally, American hardwood exporters increasingly understand the requirements of Asian manufacturers and their need to work together – at such events as the annual AHEC and NHLA conventions where huge numbers of producers and traders gather together under one roof. First published in ‘International Hardwood Matters’ journal by NHLA, Memphis, USA. Michael Buckley, Fellow of the Institute of Wood Science, is an independent wood industry consultant who has specialised in temperate hardwoods since 1988. your SINGLE SOURCE for the world’s HARDWOODS 15
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American Hardwood Supplement 2018

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